Cedar Catholic hopes for some State Tourney upsets
LINCOLN — Here they go again.
Once more the Cedar Catholic volleyball team is Lincoln-bound as they will seek that coveted D-1 state title when they tip off in a state quarterfinal match 2 p.m. Thursday against No. 2 seeded BDS (28-3) in Lincoln.
The Lady Trojans (17-13) enter as the seventh seed following an emphatic District title win over Elgin Public/Pope John 3-0 (25- 21, 25-21, 25-19).
BDS offers plenty of challenges for a team that has seen them all.
“BDS is another team with a lot of state experience,” Buss said. “They are coming up from Class D2 this year but at this point everyone, in every class is very good.”
The team will have to keep performing at a high level in order to win, Buss said.
“The keys to our success will be our consistency, being able to be confident and execute the game plans we make,” she said.
Teams that have gotten this far as pleased as hand sanitizer as they have managed to get to the season’s final weekend while the nation is in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This season has tested us a lot,” Buss said. “We haven’t always come out on top and are learning to come out and play consistent. We do some great things, and I think our team will rise to the occasion. The key is to keep plugging away and find new ways to score.”
What ever happens, she hopes the team enjoys their chance on the big stage.
“I hope we just soak up the moment and enjoy our small time left as this team together,” she said.
Senior Gracie Dickes said returning to state is a big deal for a group that not only struggled at times with a new lineup, but also had to get up for a big match after losing to their crosstown rivals – many of which they had played with since they were little girls.
“We realized we had to change something,” Dickes said. “(Against Hartington-Newcastle) we got into our own heads after starting out really strong. They just kept feeding off of their own kills and we never got going.”
Team members thought their season was over after tha SubDistrict loss, Dickes said.
“After that loss, we didn’t get the wildcard (at first) and we were like ‘oh, crap, we’re done.’ Then we got in and we were like, ‘OK, we have a chance now we have to do something with it without throwing it away.’”
Dickes admits that losing to the Lady Wildcats may have been a blessing to refocus the Lady Trojans before the District final.
“It opened our eyes and we had to push harder than we thought,” Dickes said. “It kind of woke us up.”
Dickes acknowledged not making it to state would have made 2020 a bust of a season and now that they are heading to Lincoln
“The past four years we went (to State) and I didn’t want my senior year to be the one we broke that,” Dickes said. “We need to come out right away because we don’t always do that. We start in a hole and have to dig ourselves to get back. We know we can if we work together to get going. I don’t know if we are underestimating teams, but we just don’t start off our best and we are like, ‘oh, shoot.’”
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